Korean Job Discussion Forums

[alphalfa]

From the payment of salary section of the contract:

"the first monthly salary is paid on the date when the instructor will have been working for one month and 10 days. Therefore, the payday will be delayed 10 days." I have no problem with this statement. It's not uncommon here in Korea. But, this following statement appears to be cleverly worded: "the withholding pay for 10 days shall be reinbursed at the end of the contract".

This surely sounds like a "security deposit", doesn't it? I clearly understand the schools' "need" to do this. But, this "need" fosters some degree of mistrust on the part of the school towards the employee. don't you agree?

Why doesn't the school agree to issue the withholding pay after say six months? Time to build trust.

Would this statement appearing in the contract cause you to NOT accept the whole contract? (KW2.3mil, 2:30 to 8:30pm 10 days vacation etc..)

alphalfa

[hellofaniceguy]

Why don't you just ask the school owner what it means?!?!?!?!
Get it spelled out verbatim. If it is a security deposit...no then.
And it is NOT common in korea to wait 10 for your pay. The majority of koreans get paid when their month ends. If you start on the 9th, payday is on the 8th of the following month. Some places do pay everyone at once, could be the 10th, etc...
Also...agree ONLY to "X" amount of classes per month. Average is 120. Don't agree to hours and DON'T agree to 30 classes a week either! 120 a month.
Trust? You understand the school's reason...hey...why are you working for anyway? Money! Why is the school owner in business? Money!
I would not agree to the 10 days and I think most would not also.
Remember..contracts are a two way street and you can get whatever you want written in them...it both parties agree. Get the best deal for yourself.

[casey's moon]

No, I don't think that's what it is. It's something so obvious that you're getting confused because they don't need to spell it out. Happened to me too once.

They mean that they will pay you a month and 10 days after your contract starts. If that date is January 10th, then you will get your next paycheque on February 10th (not on February 1st), etc. They will keep paying you every month. This part: "the withholding pay for 10 days shall be reinbursed at the end of the contract" means that you will get your last pay 10 days after your contract ends (by following that monthly pay schedule).

It's pretty obvious, but apparently it needs to be outlined in Korean contracts so that you'll know you will get your full pay. It took my supervisor 15 minutes to expain it when I hadn't even asked -- and then I thought, "uhhh, yeah.... of course!"

The 10 day thing is no big deal and I wouldn't let it bother me if I were you. My job that had this system was a national university, and everything was on the up and up. If you're seeing red flags (this, in my opinion is not one), then don't sign the contract until you're feeling more sure.

But you can always ask. Expect the answer to take some time!